


I'll Follow You Into the Dark

by flashforeward



Category: King Falls AM (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 17:46:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13686663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flashforeward/pseuds/flashforeward
Summary: When Jack disappears, Sammy sees only one way to solve the mystery.





	I'll Follow You Into the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this before episode 68 dropped so it got a bit retconned, but it was mostly done anyway so I finished it as an AU.

_S._

_Chasing a story._

_Will call from King Falls._

_-J_

Sammy smiled as he pulled open the refrigerator and grabbed the milk. It wasn't the first time he'd woken to an empty bed and a note on the fridge door, and it wouldn't be the last. And he didn't want it to be. Jack's dedication to his job, to the story, that single-minded need to follow something through. That was part of what had drawn Sammy to him in the first place. Part of what he loved about him. He poured his milk, then sat at the table, opening his laptop as he dug into his breakfast.

King Falls.

Small town. Middle of nowhere. Lot of local folklore. Nothing stood out as something that would draw Jack there, but Sammy didn't always know what stories Jack was looking into until he had all the information. Jack liked to get to the bottom of a lead before he told anyone else.

He'd call and hint and Sammy would jokingly complain that Jack didn't trust him, their usual rapport. But Jack would play it close, like he always did, and Sammy just had to wait like everyone else.

Sipping his coffee, Sammy closed the browser and opened his notes for that night. His producer might be out of town, but the show must go on.

\--

He never called.

Sammy made it through the whole show and was heading home when it registered: Jack had not called. Sammy tried to rationalize. Maybe it slipped his mind. Maybe he got caught up in work. Didn't have the time.

Or, loathe though Sammy was to consider it, maybe he was in some sort of trouble.

The drive home felt longer than it ever had before. He couldn't get home fast enough and by the tim he put the car in park, he already had his phone out and was dialing Jack. He counted rings, heart racing, and his stomach lurched when he reached Jack's voicemail.

"Hey, hon," he said, fighting to keep his voice steady. "I just wanted to check in, see how it's going. Call me when you can. Love ya." He forced himself to hang up, to get out of the car, to go inside. He forced himself through his routine. He kept checking his phone the whole time, never mind that he would have heard it if it rang, but the screen stayed stubbornly blank.

He lost track of time. It could have been hours, it could have been minutes. It all felt like forever and he couldn't stand it. So this time when he pulled out his phone, he made another call.

"Good show, Shotgun." She didn't sound like she meant it, but tonight Sammy didn't care.

"Hey, Lil, have you heard from Jack?" He dreaded her answer, but he needed to know.

"You two fight again?"

"He's chasing a story," Sammy said, rolling his eyes at her question. "He hasn't called yet, but I thought maybe he'd called you first?"

"I dunno what to tell you, Shotgun, I'm not my brother's keeper."

"I didn't say you were, I was just wondering if you'd heard from him."

"Well, I haven't." Lily chuckled. " Maybe he came to his senses and finally left you."

"Not funny, Wright." The thought had crossed Sammy's mind and hearing Lily say it only made it feel all the more plausible. Even though he knew it wasn't like that. Knew Jack would never do that, wouldn't just leave without saying anything.

But he can't quiet the fear.

"Look. Sorry, Sammy, but he hasn't called."

"All right. Uh. He probably got busy. Thanks, Lily."

"Whatever, Shotgun."

"Bye," he said, but she'd already hung up.

He set his phone on the bedside table and hunched forward, pressing the hells of his hands against his eyes. He pulled in a slow, deep breath, then let it out, trying to calm his racing thoughts, to quiet his mind.

To stop thinking the worst.

He grabbed his phone and hit Jack's number again.

This time there was no ring, it went straight to voicemail.

\--

"Where the _hell_ is my brother, Stevens?"

It had been a week. A long, hard week. Sammy hadn't slept well. His job performance was at an all time low. He'd called Jack every day and two days before it had stopped even going to voicemail. Now the cellular customer he wished to reach was unavailable.

"I _told_ you," Sammy said, doing nothing to hide the exasperation in his voice. "He went to King Falls for a story."

"Fine. Don't tell me."

"Lily, I-"

"And, Stevens, if you expect me to believe this isn't your fault, you need to get better at lying."

"I'm telling the truth!"

"Newsflash, Shotgun, Google exists. I looked into this place, it's got _nothing_. So what story, pray tell, was Jack supposed to be looking into there?"

"He didn't tell me. You _know_ he didn't tell me. He likes to get the full story before he tells anyone."

"I don't care what secrets you want to keep, Shotgun, as long as they don't put my brother in danger."

Sammy let the silence stretch, heavy and awkward. "I would _never_ ," he said. Growled, really. Then ended the call.

How dare she?

How fucking _dare_ she?

She was worried. Of course she was worried. He was worried, too. They didn't need to take it out on each other ,but old habits died hard, he supposed.

He tried Jack again.

Again: _the cellular customer you are trying to reach is unavailable._

Blowing out a breath, he threw his phone onto the couch. He tipped his head back and blinked hard against the tears. He felt so helpless, so useless. He had no idea what Jack had been after or where he had disappeared to. Somewhere in King Falls, but why? What was there? 

Any notes Jack had were with him. In King Falls.

So, realistically, there was only one way for Sammy to find out what was going on: follow Jack.


End file.
